Articles of footwear



y 1, 1968 J. R. MCGINNITY 3,383,782

ARTI CLES OF FOOTWEAR Filed Nov. 5, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Jilzei A. Mr fiz'zzzzz a a y 21, 1958 J. R. M GINNITY ARTICLES 0F FOOTWEAR 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Nov. 5, 1964 United States Patent 3,383,782 ARTICLES OF FOOTWEAR James R. McGinnity, Danvers, Mass., assignor to Mrs. Days Ideal Baby Shoe Company, Inc., Danvers, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Nov. 5, 1964, Ser. No. 40,235 1 Claim. (Cl. 36-3) This invention relates to making foot coverings and has for its principal objects to provide a wear-resistant ventilated outsole for articles of footwear, such as the foot portions of pajamas for both infants and adults, the bottoms of slippers, bootees, sock feet, and the like; to provide a ventilated outsole which embodies flexibility and comfort; to provide a ventilated outsole which will not become detached by wear, washing and/or drying at elevated temperatures; and to provide a method for making footwear with flexible, ventilated outsoles. Other objects are to provide a flexible, perforate polyvinyl outsole for attachment to an article of footwear or adapted to be used with appropriate attaching means as an article of footwear.

As herein illustrated, the foot covering is comprised of a soft, flexible upper having a perforate part coextensive with the bottom of the foot which constitutes an insole, characterized in that the outsole is comprised of a flexible layer of polyvinyl chloride attached to the insole and contains a plurality of holes through it exposing the insole and forming, in conjunction with the perforations in the insole, vents throughout the entire area of the bottom. The upper may be Comprised of any flexible soft material containing pores or perforations of sufiicient size to receive, by penetration, enough of the polyvinyl chloride to unite the outsole thereto and preferably is woven or knitted. The polyvinyl outsole, in addition to containing holes, has projecting ribs, the projecting edges of which constitute the tread surface of the outsole.

According to the novel method of making the footwear, a measured volume of liquid polyvinyl chloride is placed in the mold cavity of a bottom mold having projecting upwardly from its bottom a plurality of pins, the upper ends of which terminate substantially at the level of the rim of the mold. A last with an upper mounted thereon is lowered into engagement with the open top of the mold and the upper ends of the pins to spread the polyvinyl chloride by contact therewith, and is held engaged with the mold and upper ends of the pins under sufiicient pressure to prevent extrusion of the polyvinyl chloride from the mold and for a period of time sufficiently long to effect complete polymerization of the polyvinyl chloride. At a constant temperature of approximately 315 F. complete polymerization can be effected in approximately 3 minutes so that the finished article can be removed from the mold without need for cooling.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a bootee, by way of example, to which the novel outsole of this invention is attached;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the bootee;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary bottom view of the forepart of the bootee as seen from the outside;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the bottom of the bootee as seen from the inside;

FIG. 5 is a vertical section taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a very much enlarged fragmentary portion at the bottom of the outsole showing a hole through the outsole exposing the fabric of the insole;

FIG. 7 is an elevation of an article of footwear such as a sock or the lower part of a pajama leg provided with an outsole of the kind which forms the subject matter of this invention;

FIG. 8 is a vertical section through a bottom-forming mold ,showing in elevation an upper on a last supported in engagement with the open top of the mold;

FIG. 9 is a transverse vertical section showing a quantity of the polyvinyl chloride deposited in the mold cavity just before it is spread by lowering the lasted upper into engagement with the open top of the mold;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a bottom blank for attachment to an insole; and

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal section through the blank shown in FIG. 10.

Referring to the drawings there is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 a bootee such as worn by children, comprised of a soft woven or knitted fabric upper 12 and a bottom 14 also of fabric and usually an integral portion of the upper. It is customary to reinforce the bottom portion 14, for example, by sewing a layer of fabric to the underside or a thin flexible layer of leather or vinyl plastic, and in some instances to attach an outsole of rubber to the bottom layer by vulcanization. The attached fabric layers do not afford the resistance to wear desired and the plastic and rubber layers are impervious and hence cause the feet to perspire especially when the bootees are worn to bed and are so stiff so as to be uncomfortable.

It is the purpose of this invention to provide an outsole for an article of footwear such as described above and similar articles such as the foot portions at the lower ends of pajama legs, the foot portions of leotards, the foot portions of socks, slippers, and the like, comprised of woven or knitted fabrics or perforate material which will provide for improved wear-resistance and at the same time retain the ventilation and flexibility characteristic of the fabric of the upper so that the article will both provide for good wearing properties and complete comfort even when worn to bed.

In accordance with the invention, a bottom 16 is applied to the bottom part 14 of the upper so that the latter 14 becomes an insole and the former 16 an outsole. The outsole is comprised of a layer of polyvinyl chloride containing a plurality of holes 18 distributed uniformly or in any desired pattern over its entire area or a part thereof which expose the insole as shown, to very much larger scale, in FIG. 6. The holes 18 in the outsole, in combination with the pores 20 in the fabric, whether woven or knitted, provide for ventilation through the bottom of the article of footwear to the foot and also because these holes reduce the continuity of the outsole they increase its flexibility to a very considerable extent, so that no stiffness is experienced when worn. The holes 18 are relatively large in area in comparison to the pores in the fabric, for example in the order of to 1.

To enhance the resistance of the outsole 16 to sliding on highly polished floors it is provided with outwardly projecting ribs 22 which cross each other at acute angles and are so located that the holes 18 are situated between the ribs. The edges of the ribs constitute the tread surface.

The inner side of the outsole is smooth so that the inner side of the insole is correspondingly smooth and hence comfortable to the foot.

Preferably the outsole is attached with a bottom-forming mold 24 having a mold cavity 26 of the desired shape and depth and a rim 28 on which the last 30, upon which the upper U is mounted, is adapted to be placed. The bottom of the mold has projecting upwardly therefrom a plurality of pins 29 arranged in regularly spaced parallel lines or in any desired pattern. The upper ends of the pins 29 are terminated substantially at the level of the rim of the mold so that when the lasted upper is placed on the rim, the bottom of the lasted upper will have firm contact with the upper ends of the pins. If the contour of the bottom of the last requires it, the pins may be made of different height so that all of the pins will have contact with the bottom of the upper when the latter is placed in the mold, so that the holes in the bottom will extend completely through to the insole. The last may be fastened to a link 32 which may he raised and lowered about a pivot 34 to enable raising and lowering the upper from and lowering it into engagement with the mold.

In accordance with the practice of the method, the mold 24 and the last 30 are heated to a temperature of 315 F. and maintained at this temperature throughout the shoe making operation. An upper U of suitable fabric is now mounted on the last 30, a measured quantity of polyvinyl chloride 36 is deposited in the mold cavity 26 in a puddle, the lasted upper is lowered into engagement with the lip 28 of the mold and is held against the rim and the upper ends of the pins at sufficient pressure to prevent any squeezing out of the polyvinyl chloride or flow of the polyvinyl chloride between the insole and the upper ends of the pins for approximately 3 minutes. Complete polymerization takes place at a constant temperature of 315 F. during the 3 minute period so that the last may be immediately raised from the bottom mold to disengage the now attached bottom from the mold while still hot and the finished article stripped from the last.

The polyvinyl chloride when deposited is in liquid form, is completely homogeneous and is deposited in the open mold manually or by means of a simple measuring device. If the viscosity of the polyvinyl chloride is such that it does not of itself spread out and uniformly fill the mold cavity, the pressure of the bottom of the lasted upper when brought down into engagement with it will effect such spreading. The viscosity or durometer of the polyvinyl chloride will depend upon the character of the outsole required or desired and may be varied by the addition of plasticizer. The mold parts are kept at a constant temperature of 315 F.

The attachment of the outsole to the insole in this fashion is obtained without the use of appreciable pressure between the material, that is, the polyvinyl chloride and the bottom of the upper can be attached without the need for applying an adhesive of any kind to the insole itself and without the necessity of napping or otherwise roughing the surface of the fabric. All that is required is that a fabric be employed which is reasonably porous such as is characteristic of woven and knitted fabric. If an upper material comprised of a soft leather or man-made fabric is used, it must be provided with perforations to enable penetration of the polyvinyl chloride sufficiently to anchor the outsole to the insole. As practiced, a bond is obtained between the outsole and insole which cannot be torn lose without destruction of the fabric itself and does not become detached by wear or washing throughout the life of the article of footwear or garment to which it is attached.

Although the invention in its primary aspect resides in a foot covering embodying an upper including an insole to which a perforate, flexible polyvinyl chloride outsole is attached, it is within the scope of the invention to provide polyvinyl chloride outsole blanks per se, and to attach to such blanks uppers comprised of sandal straps, and the like, without an insole, thereby to provide a beach or bath shoe which will not retain water, or to attach any novel upper marginally to the outsole without an insole. FIGS. 10 and 11 show such a premolded outsole. A sole blank such as shown may be made by depositing a measured quantity of polyvinyl chloride in the mold, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, and lowering the naked last into engagement with the rim of the mold or by substituting a cover plate for the last.

In the practice of this invention a liquid polyvinyl chloride is used which is a commercially available compound identified as LS 14385-86 X6663, purchased from the Chemical Products Corporation of East Providence, RI. However, it is within the scope of this invention to employ any comparable or equivalent plastic compound for this purpose.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

1. A foot covering comprising an upper and outsole attached thereto, characterized in that the upper includes a soft, flexible porous fabric which is coextensive with the bottom of the foot of a wearer and forms the insole, and the outsole is comprised of a layer of impervious polyvinyl chloride bonding means securing the entire upper surface of said outsole to said insole, said outsole containing a plurality of apertures of relatively large size in comparison to the pores of the insole, said apertures providing continuous passages through the outsole from the inner surface to the outer surface, and said apertures and pores collectively providing vents throughout the entire area of the bottom of the foot covering, said bond between the confronting surfaces of the insole and the outsole being constituted solely by the substance of the outsole adhered to the fabric of the insole, spaced parallel ribs crossing each other on the bottom face of the outsole, said crossing ribs forming quadrilateral recesses at the bottom and being spaced at such intervals as to contain within each recess one of said apertures, said ribs forming a supporting structure for holding the lower ends of the apertures and the fabric of the insole exposed therethrough elevated from the ground.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 231,398 8/1880 Bussey 36-3 1,938,393 12/1933 Kelley 36-3 D. 39,747 1/1909 McKenna 36-59 X D. 90,057 5/1933 Van Cleef 36-59 X 231,830 8/1880 McDonald 36-3 2,030,545 2/1936 Schulze 36-32 X 2,333,201 11/1943 Russell. 2,334,659 11/ 1943 Van Arsdale et a1 36-9 2,416,061 2/ 1947 McAlevy et al. 2,538,673 1/1951 Donahue 36-9 2,884,716 5/1959 Shelare et al. 36-3 3,061,950 11/1962 Levine 36-3 2,558,973 7/1951 Meaker 36-3 3,031,723 5/1962 Baudou 264-244 3,109,701 11/1963 Jacquet 264-244 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner. A. R. GUEST, Examiner. 

1. A FOOT COVERING COMPRISING AN UPPER AND OUTSOLE ATTACHED THERETO, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT THE UPPER INCLUDES A SOFT, FLEXIBLE POROUS FABRIC WHICH IS COEXTENSIVE WITH THE BOTTOM OF THE FOOT OF A WEARER AND FORMS THE INSOLE, AND THE OUTSOLE IS COMPRISED OF A LAYER OF IMPERVIOUS POLYVINYL CHLORIDE BONDING MEANS SECURING THE ENTIRE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID OUTSOLE TO SAID INSOLE, SAID OUTSOLE CONTAINING A PLURALITY OF APERTURES OF RELATIVELY LARGE SIZE IN COMPARISON TO THE PORES OF THE INSOLE, SAID APERTURES PROVIDING CONTINUOUS PASSAGES THROUGH THE OUTSOLE FROM THE INNER SURFACES TO THE OUTER SURFACE, AND SAID APERTURES AND PORES COLLECTIVELY PROVIDING VENTS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE AREA OF THE BOTTOM OF THE FOOT COVERING, SAID BOND BETWEEN THE CONFRONTING SURFACES OF THE INSOLE AND THE OUTSOLE BEING CONSTITUTED SURFACES OF THE INSOLE AND THE OUTSOLE ADHERED TO THE FABRIC OF THE INSOLE, SPACED PARALLEL RIBS CROSSING EACH OTHER ON THE BOTTOM FACE OF THE OUTSOLE, SAID CROSSING RIBS FORMING QUADRILATERAL RECESSES AT THE BOTTOM AND BEING SPACED AT SUCH INTERVALS AS TO CONTAIN WITHIN EACH RECESS ONE OF SAID APERTURES, SAID RIBS FORMING A SUPPORTING STRUCTURE FOR HOLDING THE LOWER ENDS OF THE APERTURES AND THE FABRIC OF THE INSOLE EXPOSED THERETHROUGH ELEVATED FROM THE GROUND. 